ABC's celebrity diving competition "Splash" got off to a very solid start on Tuesday night, but it wasn't enough to worry CBS, which swept the primetime hours with "NCIS," "NCIS: Los Angeles" and "Golden Boy."

"Splash" finished second in its hour and became network TV's biggest unscripted debut since "The X Factor" launched in 2011.

Meanwhile, it was yet another tough week for NBC's "Go On," "The New Normal" and "Smash," though at least the network can look forward to the return of "The Voice" next week.

Among adults 18-49, CBS averaged a 2.6 rating for Tuesday night, beating ABC and FOX's 2.0 rating in the key demographic. There was a big drop to NBC's 0.9 key demo rating and the 0.3 key demo rating for NBC.

Overall, CBS averaged an estimated 14.98 million viewers an a 9.5 rating/15 share for Tuesday primetime. ABC was second with a 5.7/9 and 8.88 million viewers. FOX was a distant third with 4.27 million viewers and a 2.7/4, beating NBC's 2.0/5 and 2.94 million viewers. The CW averaged 802,000 viewers and a 0.5/1 for the night.

[Univision averaged 3.52 million viewers and a 1.4 rating among adults 18-49 for Tuesday.]

8 p.m. - "NCIS" started CBS' primetime sweep with 19.09 million viewers and a 3.1 rating among adults 18-49. ABC was second with 8.8 million viewers and a 2.6 key demo rating for "Splash," which even posted some growth at the half-hour. FOX's "Hell's Kitchen" averaged 4.85 million viewers and a 2.0 key demo rating in third, well ahead of the 3.71 million viewers and 1.0 key rating for NBC's "Betty White's Off Their Rockers." The CW's "Target Presents the IHeartRadio Album Release Party with Justin Timberlake" averaged 1.075 million viewers and a 0.4 key demo rating.

9 p.m. - "NCIS: Los Angeles," the opening segment of a two-part planted spinoff, averaged 16.59 million viewers and a 2.8 rating among adults 18-49 to lead the 9 p.m. hour. ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" was second with 9.58 million viewers and a 2.1 key demo rating. FOX was third with "New Girl" (4.2 million and a 2.2 key demo) and "The Mindy Project" (3.16 million viewers and a 1.7 key demo rating." NBC's "Go On" (2.86 million viewers and a 1.0 key demo) and "The New Normal" (2.1 million viewers and a 0.7 key demo rating) struggled. The CW averaged 529,000 viewers and a 0.2 key demo rating for a repeat of "Beauty and the Beast."

10 p.m. - CBS' "Golden Boy" was up week-to-week with 9.26 million viewers and a 1.7 rating among adults 18-49. Also rising was ABC's "Body of Proof," which got a particular huge bump to 8.25 million viewers and also rose to a 1.5 key demo rating. NBC's "Smash" averaged 2.645 million viewers and a 0.8 key demo rating in third.

All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.

A long-time member of the TCA Board and a longer-time blogger of "American Idol," Dan Fienberg writes about TV, except for when he writes about movies or sometimes writes about the Red Sox. But never music. He would sound stupid talking about music.

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I know it's a slow time of year, but a 3.1 demo winning the night just seems extraordinarily bad. How does this stack up to recent years - has it been this low before, or does this year just really suck?

I enjoy "Golden Boy" but as a viewer (an ever-shrinking lot apparently) who also has enjoyed "Vegas" all season I'm really starting to think that the sun has set on Mr. Quaid's TV project. CBS has no regular programming either this Friday or next Friday with the NCAA Basketball Tournament, which means the earliest that "Vegas" will air its first episode in its new Friday night time slot will be April 5.

At this point I've lost track of when its most-recent new episode aired but I think it was in late February; right?